Joe Milton emphasizes importance of Vols taking 'full responsibility' for collapse at Alabama

Joe Milton III wasn’t making excuses Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Over and over during his postgame press conference, Tennessee’s redshirt senior starting quarterback said his Vols simply played 30 minutes of bad football. 

That’s how he explained Tennessee building a 20-7 halftime lead against Alabama, only to see the Crimson Tide score 27 unanswered points in their 34-20 win.

“They didn’t do anything different (in the second half),” Milton said. “They just executed as a team. And I feel like that’s what we needed to do in that second half. Go out there, execute. And just remember that it’s 0-0. You gotta play for 30 (more) minutes.”

Milton in the first half completed 16 of 22 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 43 yards on the ground on eight carries. He had just 96 yards passing and 16 yards rushing in the second half.

Over the first and second quarters, the Vols scored on four of seven possessions. After halftime, they went 0-for-7 on seven drives, including four three-and-outs.

Joe Milton: ‘Certain guys wasn’t doing their jobs … I’ll take full responsibility for that’

Milton said the only response for Tennessee’s offense is to keep moving forward. 

“You just gotta keep going,” he said. “You gotta play the next play, you know? That’s offense and how we operate. You gotta be able to play the next play no matter where the momentum is. You gotta be able to play the next play and play assignment sound.”

Alabama’s offense scored on each of its first four possessions in the second half and the Crimson Tide defense put the game on ice with a strip sack of Milton in the fourth quarter, scooping and scoring the loose ball to stretch the lead to two touchdowns.

The first possession of the second half was a two-play, 75-yard touchdown drive for Alabama. Tennessee responded with just eight yards on three plays before punting. 

After Alabama added a field goal, Tennessee was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Vols’ 47-yard line. The Tide went 47 yards in five plays, taking their first lead on a 5-yard Jase McClellan touchdown run.

“Just wasn’t assignment sound,” Milton said of the second-half failures. “Certain guys wasn’t doing their job, taking turns. I’ll take full responsibility for that just because I’m the quarterback, but also I lead this team, it’s my team. So being able to take full responsibility in that and having guys assignment sound for the next game is gonna be very important.”

“I mean, guys just weren’t playing at a high level,” Milton added later. “And you gotta take full responsibility for that. You just gotta play as one team and one sound.”

Up Next: No. 21 Tennessee at Kentucky, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

The Vols (5-2, 2-2 SEC) have chances to make noise over the next three weeks, starting at Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) at Kroger Field in Lexington. After that is the Homecoming game against UConn on November 4 and a trip to No. 16 Missouri on November 11.

Milton made it sound like the second-half collapse at Alabama won’t shake Tennessee.

“This team has great confidence,” he said. “These guys come in, no matter if we lose or win, these guys come in every day with the same energy, pushing me. I push them guys and they also come in there because they believe in themselves. 

“Every individual in that locker room believe in themselves, that they’ll get the job done. So the confidence always gonna stay high for these guys.”